ASIGN Observatory II is back on track!

ASIGN_Baz · 14th July 2012, 6:46 PM

Finally!!!

Wowee, the plan is coming together! A while back I sent my design concept and dimensions to a building engineer. A couple of weeks ago I received the engineer drawings for the structural support. The drawings look fantastic, hi-tech and very professional. And get this, the awesome guy did it for free! Last week I started buying steel and cutting, drilling, welding and assembling.

The very next day, I got a message from a company called Diversified Computing and Consulting. They have very generously donated $500 to get the observatory started and have pledged $500 every month for the next six months! Wow! I am blown away and was really lost for words. Such generosity is rare and I am sure that future patrons of this resource will be very grateful. I know I am!

I also got a $100 donation from a troop-commander of mine from my army days, two astronomy mates, a church friend, plus a pledge at tax time from my insurance broker! There’s a long way to go, but all this certainly helps! At any rate, it gets it all moving and that’s often the hardest part.

This week I have bought the bearers and cut them to size, cut the support studs and cut and drilled all the joining brackets. The welder is coming tomorrow to weld all the brackets on then I can start bolting it and erecting it!! WOOOHHOOO!!

To keep up with progress, Here's a link to the project.

ASIGN_Baz · 19th July 2012, 9:32 PM

Slowly getting little bits done at a time now. I only get about an hour of daylight after work at the moment, so it's frantic activity the moment I get out of the car.

Progress so far.

Squeezer · 22nd July 2012, 5:06 PM

I recall seeing photos of the footings and slab for this poured Months and months ago ?

ASIGN_Baz · 22nd July 2012, 8:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squeezer

I recall seeing photos of the footings and slab for this poured Months and months ago ?

Correct.

A few things have happened in life, notwithstanding waiting for engineer drawings and funding, I have had a change of vocation plus a new baby, so not much time for building. Things are starting to really move now though.

Baz.

ASIGN_Baz · 22nd July 2012, 11:39 PM

WOOHOO! The Bearers are up! It took a few hours today and into the night, but the hardest part (heaviest) is done!

Progress report here.

ASIGN_Baz · 29th July 2012, 12:51 AM

It doesn't look like much, but I got a heap done today on the observatory. Tomorrow all the studs go up. I thought I would jump in the photo and stand still for 30 seconds tonight to give a sense of scale. (I'm 6'2)

ASIGN_Baz · 29th July 2012, 8:14 PM

This weekend was a marathon of time available for building. By doing some extra cash work after hours and with help from some awesome people and generous givers, I managed to get together enough funding to buy the wall-framing.

Click here for construction update.

Below: Studs in place - with some minor plumbing (vertical alignment) to be done on each before they are screwed to the flexi-track top and bottom.

Deliverancexx · 29th July 2012, 8:19 PM

That looks great!
Can't wait to see it completed.

yezzum · 1st August 2012, 11:46 PM

An observatory in the front yard!!

Hilarious and awesome as it's definitely not something you see every day. Quite a selling point too if you ever decide to move.

Did you get much grief from the council? Given how bad they can be for just putting up a deck or pergola, I can only imagine the potential grief in getting planning approval for this (at least in my local council area).

Sorry, only quickly skimmed the project page. Are you in a somewhat rural area? Just wondering as one of your shots shows a fantastic view of the nightsky so I'm guessing that there's minimal smog issues where you are.

Good luck with it.

ASIGN_Baz · 1st August 2012, 11:56 PM

Thanks mate. Yep, the plans were all approved by the local planning authority. They were very helpful!

I'm in suburban Canberra, but having lived in Sydney for years, I can compare the light pollution and say that Canberra has way better night skies!

Baz.

C-NuT · 2nd August 2012, 10:10 AM

That looks awesome. A great project. Good luck with it!

jastormont · 2nd August 2012, 10:28 AM

This is awesome and must be a talking point in your street.

Also just looked at your Photography and boy you got some great photos in there and I reckon you will get some great shoots out of this when completed.

ASIGN_Baz · 2nd August 2012, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jastormont

This is awesome and must be a talking point in your street.

Thanks mate. It's about to become a talking point in the whole city and in a few months, likely the nation...but I will let you know all about that later...

Baz.

plasticbastard · 2nd August 2012, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASIGN_Baz

Thanks mate. It's about to become a talking point in the whole city and in a few months, likely the nation...but I will let you know all about that later...

Baz.

You found the asteroid that will doom us all...?

hlokk · 2nd August 2012, 2:46 PM

Theres an observatory sticking out of a house around Claremont here in Perth, but I always wonder how useful it would be with so much light pollution. Certainly suburban Canberra would be a nicer location for those Milky shots.

With the way the pedestal and the telescope is mounted in your pic, it seems you'll need to go up to the second floor to see through the scope/set up the camera, etc. So what exactly is the point of the ground floor? Just trying to figure out the design

14th July 2012, 6:46 PM	#1
ASIGN_Baz Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 781	ASIGN Observatory II is back on track! Finally!!! Wowee, the plan is coming together! A while back I sent my design concept and dimensions to a building engineer. A couple of weeks ago I received the engineer drawings for the structural support. The drawings look fantastic, hi-tech and very professional. And get this, the awesome guy did it for free! Last week I started buying steel and cutting, drilling, welding and assembling. The very next day, I got a message from a company called Diversified Computing and Consulting. They have very generously donated $500 to get the observatory started and have pledged $500 every month for the next six months! Wow! I am blown away and was really lost for words. Such generosity is rare and I am sure that future patrons of this resource will be very grateful. I know I am! I also got a $100 donation from a troop-commander of mine from my army days, two astronomy mates, a church friend, plus a pledge at tax time from my insurance broker! There’s a long way to go, but all this certainly helps! At any rate, it gets it all moving and that’s often the hardest part. This week I have bought the bearers and cut them to size, cut the support studs and cut and drilled all the joining brackets. The welder is coming tomorrow to weld all the brackets on then I can start bolting it and erecting it!! WOOOHHOOO!! To keep up with progress, Here's a link to the project. __________________ Australian Wildlife Photographer ASIGN Observatory II Barry Armstead Photography

19th July 2012, 9:32 PM	#2
ASIGN_Baz Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 781	Slowly getting little bits done at a time now. I only get about an hour of daylight after work at the moment, so it's frantic activity the moment I get out of the car. Progress so far. __________________ Australian Wildlife Photographer ASIGN Observatory II Barry Armstead Photography

22nd July 2012, 5:06 PM	#3
Squeezer Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Adelaide Posts: 6,442	I recall seeing photos of the footings and slab for this poured Months and months ago ? __________________ Craftypics - Photography, Video, Timelapse

22nd July 2012, 11:39 PM	#5
ASIGN_Baz Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 781	WOOHOO! The Bearers are up! It took a few hours today and into the night, but the hardest part (heaviest) is done! Progress report here. __________________ Australian Wildlife Photographer ASIGN Observatory II Barry Armstead Photography

29th July 2012, 12:51 AM	#6
ASIGN_Baz Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 781	It doesn't look like much, but I got a heap done today on the observatory. Tomorrow all the studs go up. I thought I would jump in the photo and stand still for 30 seconds tonight to give a sense of scale. (I'm 6'2) __________________ Australian Wildlife Photographer ASIGN Observatory II Barry Armstead Photography

29th July 2012, 8:14 PM	#7
ASIGN_Baz Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 781	This weekend was a marathon of time available for building. By doing some extra cash work after hours and with help from some awesome people and generous givers, I managed to get together enough funding to buy the wall-framing. Click here for construction update. Below: Studs in place - with some minor plumbing (vertical alignment) to be done on each before they are screwed to the flexi-track top and bottom. __________________ Australian Wildlife Photographer ASIGN Observatory II Barry Armstead Photography

29th July 2012, 8:19 PM	#8
Deliverancexx Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: 3121 VIC Posts: 1,104	That looks great! Can't wait to see it completed. __________________ Apple MacBook Air 13" Apple iPhone 4

1st August 2012, 11:46 PM	#9
yezzum Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Launceston, TAS Posts: 673	An observatory in the front yard!! Hilarious and awesome as it's definitely not something you see every day. Quite a selling point too if you ever decide to move. Did you get much grief from the council? Given how bad they can be for just putting up a deck or pergola, I can only imagine the potential grief in getting planning approval for this (at least in my local council area). Sorry, only quickly skimmed the project page. Are you in a somewhat rural area? Just wondering as one of your shots shows a fantastic view of the nightsky so I'm guessing that there's minimal smog issues where you are. Good luck with it.

1st August 2012, 11:56 PM	#10
ASIGN_Baz Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 781	Thanks mate. Yep, the plans were all approved by the local planning authority. They were very helpful! I'm in suburban Canberra, but having lived in Sydney for years, I can compare the light pollution and say that Canberra has way better night skies! Baz. __________________ Australian Wildlife Photographer ASIGN Observatory II Barry Armstead Photography

2nd August 2012, 10:10 AM	#11
C-NuT Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Melb Posts: 247	That looks awesome. A great project. Good luck with it!

2nd August 2012, 10:28 AM	#12
jastormont Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Brisbane Posts: 1,107	This is awesome and must be a talking point in your street. Also just looked at your Photography and boy you got some great photos in there and I reckon you will get some great shoots out of this when completed. __________________ Main Rig: i7 2600K O/C 4.4Ghz, 16GB Ram, Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3, Corsair 600T Case, Coolmaster H-80 cooler, eVGA 2x GTX570, 3 x Samsung BX2240 21.5", Dell 30" Sony Vaio Club Member #11

2nd August 2012, 2:46 PM	#15
hlokk Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: WA Posts: 3,967	Theres an observatory sticking out of a house around Claremont here in Perth, but I always wonder how useful it would be with so much light pollution. Certainly suburban Canberra would be a nicer location for those Milky shots. With the way the pedestal and the telescope is mounted in your pic, it seems you'll need to go up to the second floor to see through the scope/set up the camera, etc. So what exactly is the point of the ground floor? Just trying to figure out the design __________________ Oh, for the love of science!